Often, when I find I’m feeling uninspired I check out industry magazines for blogging ideas. However, even those can become repetitive. I’ve found that the solution is often right in front of me.

Here are 3 ways to stretch your imagination, find inspiration and ultimately provide value to your readers:

Break a Previous Post Down to an Even Tighter Topic

So you’ve written about a topic. Have you covered it in detail? Quite often you can break a past topic idea down to the nitty gritty details. You’ll likely end up with an extremely valuable piece.

For example, the other day I wrote an article about the elements of creating a fiction character. They are the psychology of the character, the physiology of the character and the sociology. That single post could then be used to create three more posts – one on each element of character. Psychology for example could be covered in depth with examples from fiction novels and even a character writing exercise.

Chances are you have many  blog posts that can be pulled apart and elaborated on. And remember, a blog post doesn’t have to be 500 to 1000 words. Short and sweet works too.

Share an Opinion/Experience

Get personal. Instead of looking for facts to share or a step-by-step way to solve a problem, engage your readers with your own experiences. Share an opinion and ask others to share theirs. Or simply write a lighthearted blog post.

For example, if you have a parenting blog you might share a recent parenting  pleasure you enjoyed and ask readers to share some of thier fond memories.

If you have a health or fitness website you might share an embarrassing story about yoga class and then ask readers to share their own. These types of blog posts lend themselves to lots of reader interaction too!

Outsource the Research

Finally, if you’re facing a block that won’t go away, consider outsourcing your topic research. It’s a great job for a VA or a ghostwriting service. A good hour of research can provide 20-30 original blog post topics. That may be enough for a month or two of content.

And remember, there are no rules. You don’t have to blog every day. If you’re simply having a down day or two, that’s fine. Relax and great ideas will come to you when you least expect them .

Many marketers capitalize on their list by creating and scheduling a regular installment of autoresponder messages. Each message leads to a promotion, provides valuable information and/or may offer the opportunity to generate affiliate commissions.

In addition to your existing email marketing campaign there are three ways to profit that you might not have considered. They include:

#1 Discounts that follow a purchase.

This simple email message says “Thank you for your purchase. Here’s a discount on your next order. You provide a promotion code or a means to use the discount and you promote repeat business. You might even send a freebie report or giveaway. The message is easy to create and add to your purchase/sales cycle and autoresponder series.

#2 Requests to review a product or service.

This type of message might follow the delivery of a product or service. For example, you could send it a week or so after the purchase. Again, it could include a bonus or giveaway in exchange for the review or you might simply ask for feedback.

This type of message offers you the opportunity to connect with your customer. You may learn something new about your prospect. You can use that information to grow your business. Additionally, it helps you build an image as a company that cares about your customers. It can help strengthen your brand.

#3 Reminders.

Finally, you might simply send your email list a reminder about opportunities your customers and prospects can take advantage of. For example, if you’re launching a new product or service, you can use a reminder email to build anticipation. You can also use it to generate upsells or to motivate repeat purchases.

During your next email strategy session, consider how you might capitalize on your autoresponders. They’re a fantastic tool and a few extra messages may offer significant profits.

If you’re looking for assistance with your autoresponder campaign or would simply like to give your existing email marketing messages an overhaul, contact AllCustomContent.com. For the month of January we’re running a special on autoresponders – 10% off. It’s a great way to save money and boost your business.

It essentially means to write the way you speak.  It’s an extremely effective method to approaching writing because it means you’re more comfortable writing. It takes some of the pressure off. Additionally, for your readers it is a much more approachable style. They feel as if you’re actually talking directly to them. It helps form a connection to your reader or prospect.

(If you’ve been taking the Contentrix Better Content Course then you’re familiar with conversational content – it’s covered in Lesson Three Contentrix Style Guide.)

That being said, there are a few mistakes commonly made when writing conversationally. No worries, they’re easy to fix once you know what to look for.

Conversational Mistake #1 – Forgetting Your Audience

Unfortunately, this mistake is made all too often.  It happens in actual conversations too. You get caught up in what you’re saying and forget who you’re talking too. Maybe you’re talking to a beginner but you’re using advanced language or ideas.

The result…they feel talked down to or confused by your content and they continue on their merry way, away from your website.

The Fix – Determine in advance who you’re writing to. Then craft your content for that person specifically. If you’re hiring a ghostwriter, it is very important to define your audience so they know who they’re writing to.

Conversational Mistake #2 – Forgetting to Breathe

You’ve likely met people who talk 90 miles an hour and don’t seem to take a breath. (My teenage daughter does this and she mumbles at the same time. I can’t understand a word she says.) It’s exhausting to listen to. And you only hear about every tenth word they say.

The writing equivalent is a run on sentence. In fact, there are times when I commit this very mistake.  Unfortunately, run on sentences are tough to read. And you and I both know that if your reader gets bored or frustrated, they’re gone.

(I should mention that it’s okay to have a long sentence from time to time. It breaks up the monotony. If every sentence were exactly six words long, your content might feel choppy.)

The Fix – If you can catch yourself while you’re making the error, great. Personally, I prefer to edit my run on sentences once I’m done with the piece.  Another easy way to make sure you’re on track is to simply use your word processing software’s readability statistics. It’ll tell you the average words per sentence. More than ten and you may want to give your piece a quick run through.

Conversational Mistake #3 – Getting Too Personal

By this I mean that you spend a lot of time using the words “I” or “We”. You insert yourself into the content. That’s fine for a blog post which is a bit more personal but for article content and sales copy you want to avoid this unless it serves a specific purpose. For example, if you’re telling a story then you might use the word “I”.

The Fix – Simply search your content for the words “I” and “We”. If you find any, rewrite the sentence.

While these mistakes are easy to make, they’re also easy to fix. And a little practice and experience will eliminate them in no time.

Happy writing!

The debate, and the article, got me to thinking about honesty and ethics when writing non-fiction articles and blog posts.

Is it ever okay to write content that bends the truth?

Now, I’m not talking about making up facts or data. That’s never okay.

I’m talking about if you’re sharing a personal story with your audience to increase a connection, strengthen a point you’re trying to make, or simply to make your blog post more interesting. Is it okay to stretch the truth then?

For example, if I were to blog honestly about my Facebook debate I would say that there were about 10-12 messages where we eventually agreed to disagree. Probably not so interesting to read but it’s the truth. I could make it more interesting by exaggerating the debate. Maybe I’d say that several people were involved in the conversation and I could call it an argument instead of a debate.

In my opinion, it’s never a good idea to stretch the truth. However, I know others feel differently. Ethics and morality aside, in this world of transparency and authenticity don’t you do your readers a discredit by bending or stretching the truth? Don’t you risk being called out if you embellish your content?

What do you think?

FYI – Here’s a link to the article that started the debate: http://www.suite101.com/content/honesty-and-ethics-in-writing-nonfiction-a63190#ixzz0xw1upnwc

When you pause to edit your spelling and/or grammar you interrupt the thought process. It slows you down and has the potential to disrupt your flow and affect your content.

I’ve had many people mention that they struggle with this “Write fast, edit later” rule. It’s just too tough to implement. Editing as you write has become a habit. Consider, if you’re looking for more clarity in your writing and you want to write faster, trying this experiment.

How to Embrace the “Write Fast, Edit Later” Rule

#1 Grab a timer. It can be a noisy kitchen timer, a timer on your computer or your wrist watch. It just has to make noise.

#2 Gather your materials. Grab your content plan, your pen and paper or your computer. Gather together whatever you need to write your content.

#3 Open your document and get ready to write. Set the timer for 10-15 minutes if you’re writing an article or blog post. Longer if you’re writing a report or ebook. (Note you can give yourself a time limit per page or per chapter if you’re working on a report or ebook. Set the time for something that seems just a bit unrealistic but not totally insane. For example, if it normally takes you two hours to write a chapter in your ebook, set the timer for one hour.)

#4 Start writing. The goal is to finish your content before the timer buzzes. If you type the last sentence as the timer is buzzing, that’s okay too.

#5 Don’t pause. Reset the timer and go onto the next piece of content.

Why This Works…

• This forces you to type quickly
• It forces you to focus on getting your thoughts onto the page
• It forces you to ignore spelling and grammar

Because you’re typing like a madman/woman chances are you’re going to be making tons of spelling and grammar issues. Your fingers just get a bit sloppy. Ignore those mistakes. Hit save and move onto the next piece of content.

The Next Steps…

Once you’ve met your content goals for the day then you have a few options:

• Check spelling and grammar right away or save it for later.
• Edit for clarity right away or save it for later.

I like to check spelling and grammar right away and then set the content aside for a while, usually a few hours to a day. This gives me time to “noodle” – to think about what I’ve written. Sometimes I think of a better way to say something when I set it aside. Regardless, putting some time between writing and editing helps me look at the content and polish it with a clear mind.

If you’re looking to break the “Edit while you write” habit, give this experiment a try. It worked for me and it might just help you reach your content goals a little bit faster.